# UN Fact-Finding Mission Reports on Myanmar (27 August 2018)

URL: https://allhistories.com/myanmar/timeline/2018-un-fact-finding-mission-reports-on-myanmar
Location: Geneva and Rakhine State
Themes: Presidency, NLD

In August 2018 an independent UN Fact-Finding Mission released findings on abuses in Myanmar, saying that the military's actions in Rakhine State included crimes against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing. It recommended that six senior generals, among them the commander-in-chief, be investigated and prosecuted by an international court. It also reported abuses in Kachin and Shan States. The UN Human Rights Council had set up the mission in 2017 to examine allegations after the October 2016 and August 2017 operations. In March 2018 a UN investigator said Facebook had been used to incite violence against the Rohingya. The government rejected the findings as exaggerations. The report led to Facebook removing accounts linked to senior commanders and to a UN mechanism to preserve evidence. It supported the ICC prosecutor's work and The Gambia's case at the International Court of Justice. A Harvard study in August 2018 estimated more than 24,000 Rohingya killed. The Myanmar authorities have denied genocidal intent. At this point in the timeline (2018), President Win Myint (30 March 2018 – 1 February 2021) led the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, with Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor (6 April 2016 – 1 February 2021). The main location of this event lies outside present-day Myanmar.

## Why it matters
It gave international legal weight to claims of atrocity crimes and underpinned later court cases. It also initiated scrutiny of social media's role in conflict.

Ruler at the Time: [Win Myint](https://allhistories.com/myanmar/rulers/win-myint)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Rohingya genocide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_genocide)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Rohingya](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rohingya)